My memories of playing monster truck games way back in the arcades were of gameplay focused more on looking cool than being compelling. Whether crushing cars, pulling sleds, or other authentic monster truck-oriented fare, they were those games you’d play periodically, but weren’t generally deep enough to keep your interest for long. Perhaps not surprisingly, even though they were more cool to look at and added some depth, up until pretty recently most games in this subgenre still tended to offer up some periodic thrills, but generally lacked the polish or satisfying challenges their racing brethren had.

For me, while one or two previous releases were absolutely on the path to finding a better balance, Monster Jam Showdown has really stepped up to the plate. While not completely abandoning events and elements that keep it firmly grounded in being a monster truck experience, by embracing more racing-oriented events, and continuing to improve on the unique but manageable controls, they’ve hit a distinctive sweet spot. What’s terrific is that many of the racing events still feel appropriately “big” in some way, generally providing plenty of space, multiple routes, and then special events like Figure 8 races to keep things more unpredictable.

A big piece of this is making sure the controls don’t feel like any other racer, but offer up enough nuance that you’re able to reasonably approach mastering them. The key here is absolutely your ability to steer your rear wheels with the right stick, making for a scheme that you may fight with at first, but that feels pretty intuitive if you’re patient with it. While other titles in this vein have also experimented with schemes to make the steering distinctive, this time it just feels more dialed in and approachable. Granted, you’ll still be wise to avoid hard obstacles or walls, since your truck can absolutely go crazy if you clip them wrong, but you can absolutely get in the zone and win big if you’re patient. I do wish the Career mode was a little more directed, but given the choice I’ll still stick with better racing over that concern on my list of priorities.

Throw in stunts and other elements that are also monster truck staples, and you have a pretty well-rounded mix of challenges to keep you on your toes. While perhaps people who’ve enjoyed the more traditional styles of play over the years may think this is getting a little too far away from the classic style, I think they’re positioning themselves for success. Hopefully a smart balance of both well-implemented racing and unique events will make this appealing both to monster truck enthusiasts and more traditional racing fans alike.